The Advancing Reliable Measurement in Alzheimer's Disease and cognitive Aging (ARMADA) Technology (Tech) Core will support the establishment of the measurement properties of the NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function (NIHTB) in older adults (85+ years) and adults over age 65 with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) or early Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The Tech Core will provide technical oversight and development across all cores and the nine data collection sites, and will facilitate and support the integration of ARMADA data within the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC; PI: Kukull). This will be accomplished via three aims: 1) Deliver the technology infrastructure necessary to support assessment administration and data management; 2) Integrate newly developed or modified existing measures assessing cognitive and sensory functions into the existing NIHTB platform; and 3) Curate measures and instrumentation to ensure correct software functioning through changes in platform and evolution of commercial devices. The Tech Core will install English and Spanish versions of the NIHTB iPad app on new iPads, and deliver the configured devices along with requisite supporting hardware and documentation to each of the data collection sites. The sites will be provided with hardware and software support, maintenance and upgrades, security and backup monitoring, and technical support throughout the data collection period. The Tech Core will enable sites to administer the NIHTB in clinic, or at home, and enable local backup and ensure data transfer to the NACC. The Core will work with Research Project Core scientists to develop new or modify existing measures to supplement the NIHTB and then implement these measures into the existing NIHTB platform in both English and Spanish versions (i.e. the NIHTB+). The NIHTB+ will be created to take advantage of standard NIHTB data structures and ultimately enable automated scoring, normative lookups, and integration into existing NIHTB exports and reports. New measures will be added to existing administration manuals, FAQs, scoring manuals and other support documents. The Tech Core will manage technological needs of new and existing instrument implementation by use of established support processes, tools and expertise. This will include hardware and software monitoring, software maintenance and upgrades, security and backup process implementation, and the provision of basic technical support. Quality Assurance specialists will test the NIHTB+ app for each iOS release, and appropriate upgrades will be made available.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Resource-Related Research Multi-Component Projects and Centers Cooperative Agreements (U2C)
Project #
5U2CAG057441-02
Application #
9567460
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAG1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2018-05-01
Budget End
2019-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Type
DUNS #
005436803
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60611
Besser, Lilah; Kukull, Walter; Knopman, David S et al. (2018) Version 3 of the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center's Uniform Data Set. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 32:351-358